The Show Must Go On
by RisemboolRanger
Summary: Saying you live a double life at school sounds quite dramatic, but Kotomi's always been dramatic. She is a drama student after all. Though the Drama Club's been in trouble lately, so Kotomi takes advantage and tries to get the best of both worlds... But it really doesn't work out as planned. Hikaru/OC. May accept OCs


"_Ay me! For aught that I could ever read, could ever hear by tale or history, the course of true love never did run smooth..._"

Kotomi sat at her desk, twirling her pen absent-mindedly between her fingers and gazing dreamily at the blackboard ahead of her as she replayed the words over in her head for the thousandth time. Shakespeare himself couldn't have imagined hearing those words in a more beautiful, refined voice.

As an actress herself, Kotomi knew how mesmerising the right performance could be. But even she'd been completely blown away by him. The voice, the heart-shattering smile, that golden hair that could have been woven from the sun itself... And most importantly, those pools of liquid amethyst that had captivated her from the second they'd locked eyes during that first line reading.

Kotomi slipped even deeper into her daydream. How could one boy be so incredibly perfect? He was the kind of person who painters could only dream of capturing in their work, who writers would never be able to put into words, who poets and songwriters would weep and despair over...

"Miss Ono!"

Kotomi suddenly snapped to attention, sitting up so abruptly that she only narrowly avoided drawing a line up her face with the same pen that she'd been twirling whilst she'd been off in another world.

"I asked you a question," said Mrs. Yagiri frostily, fixing the rather unorthodox student with her stern gaze. "And I'd like the correct answer please."

"The battle of Little Bighorn!" said Kotomi wildly, voicing the first possible thing that came into her head. Several students around her started giggling.

Mrs. Yagiri pinched the bridge of her nose and actually closed her eyes for two seconds. "This is a _math_ class, Miss Ono..." The class giggled even harder. "Now I suggest you catch up to where the rest of us are or you'll have to stay behind after class."

That was certainly incentive enough. They were going to be announcing some of the casting decisions after school - she couldn't be late to that. Especially seeing as she was already trying to think of a way that she could sneak out early after the decisions were made known...

It was safe to say that Kotomi made sure she paid the utmost attention to what Mrs. Yagiri was saying after that. Luckily she managed to get up to scale on what they were learning that lesson and was able to leave when the bell rang at three o'clock, along with the rest of the class.

She hastily stuffed everything into her bag, swung it dangerously over her shoulder - almost taking out the eye of the boy sat behind her - and raced out of the classroom and straight down to the auditorium for the announcements. Ritsuka, the club leader, was the only other member there so far, but Kotomi was surprised to see one of the old members there too.

"Kasai!" she exclaimed happily, rushing over to her. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think? I couldn't miss the announcements!" Kasai smiled, giving the smaller girl a hug.

Kasai had been in the drama club up until the start of this year. It was her final year at Ouran Academy and she'd regrettably had to drop out of any extracurricular activities to concentrate on exams, as she was aiming to enrol in one of the top-listing colleges after she finished school.

She and Kotomi had become good friends through the club though, and Kotomi had a high level of respect for her as an actress. Kasai had been the leading lady in their main production last year. Exactly what Kotomi was aspiring for now.

"But I thought you had lots of studying to do," Kotomi pointed out.

Kasai laughed. "There's _always_ lots of studying to do. I just figured I could spare the time to see the casting choices. A little birdie told me you've been working really hard for lead this year."

Kotomi flushed slightly. She was already so nervous about these announcements. Her whole year so far had been leading up to this. Sure, they did small plays every term, but it was the big end-of-the-year production that Kotomi had been aiming for. "Of course, it's everything I want!" she declared.

"And I'm sure you'll get it," Kasai smiled confidently. She may not have been a part of the Drama Club this year, but her heart was still in it completely. Ritsuka always made sure to give her all the updates so she knew how her old friends were doing.

"Well I did learn from the best," Kotomi grinned.

It was Kasai's turn to blush. "Now you're just creeping..." she laughed again.

Whilst their conversation turned to banter, with Ritsuka simply watching in amusement, more of the Drama Club members started to turn up as their last classes of the day ended too. They were eventually preceded by their drama teacher, Mr. Seishima. He did a quick count to make sure everyone was there and seated before capturing their attention.

"Alright then, everyone. Thanks to all of you for making it down here today - I know you don't normally hold activities for the club on Fridays," said Mr. Seishima. "But of course I'm sure you're all eager to hear the decisions for the main production this year... First off, I'm quite excited to tell you that I decided to branch away from the classics this time. I know we usually hold a Shakespeare production but this year, as something different, the production will be Thumbelina."

There were appreciative murmurs amongst the club. They always did Shakespeare for the main productions - it was the obvious, smart choice for any acting class. Doing something completely different, and not quite as well known, was a daring move on Mr. Seishima's part. But that suited the Drama Club just fine. They wanted a show that would make people take notice.

"Oh, now I really wish I was taking part this year," Kotomi heard Kasai whisper. "Thumbelina was my favourite book when I was little!"

"Before we go onto the casting announcements the club leader has an idea to put by you all," said Mr. Seishima. "Ritsuka, you're up."

Ritsuka got to his feet and moved to the front with Mr. Seishima where everyone could see him. He cleared his throat. "Over the last several years our productions haven't had the turn-out that they could have done... With the exception of last year of course. As I'm sure you all remember, Tamaki Suoh of the Host Club played the leading male role in our last major production."

Kotomi felt her heart skip slightly at the name. Those violet eyes flooded her mind again. She listened intently to what Ritsuka was saying, leaning so far forward that she was in danger of falling off the bench she was sitting on.

"The popularity of the Host Club had a big impact on our audience last time. So I'd like to propose the same idea again this year, obviously providing that the whole of the club is in agreement," Ritsuka suggested. Kotomi's heart flip-flopped even further. _Yes!_ This was exactly what she'd been hoping for...

"I would like to add that this was Ritsuka's idea," Mr. Seishima interjected. "When I made the casting choices I intended to give lead role of Prince Cornelius to either Ritsuka or Tokyo, but Ritsuka still believed that this could be better for the club. Though the final decision for this, I will leave up to the club as a whole."

"Before we _do_ make the decision for the leading male I think we should hear the other casting announcements first," said Ritsuka.

There was another agreeable buzz around the class. Though Ritsuka had proposed his idea to their drama teacher and Mr. Seishima had then shared his own ideas on who he had originally planned to give the role to, he hadn't let on any other decisions he'd made about the rest of the cast. Ritsuka was just as much in the dark as the rest of them.

Mr. Seishima was only technically an advisor to the club, but as a drama teacher they trusted his judgement absolutely. He'd made the casting decisions for a long time now, upon request of the club, to avoid any biased opinions. Mr. Seishima always encouraged them to make changes to his decisions though if they had any better inspiration.

"I know I'm not part of this club anymore, but I agree with that idea," Kasai spoke up, raising her hand. The rest of the club laughed, including Mr. Seishima.

"Alright then, let's get onto the other announcements," he chuckled. "First thing's first... The leading female of course. I think you'll all agree that there isn't anyone else who's put in more work and showed more improvement this past year..." He paused for effect. "So, Kotomi... You'll be playing the role of Thumbelina."

Kotomi gasped and then squealed in delight, the sound thankfully drowned out by applause and appreciative comments from the rest of the club. "_Really_?!" she squeaked when the noise died down.

Mr. Seishima laughed again. "Really."

Kotomi squealed happily a second time, though maybe not quite as loud. This was going to be _perfect_... She was sure that hugging a teacher wouldn't really be considered appropriate so she hugged Kasai instead, who happily returned the hug.

"Congratulations! I'm proud of you," she beamed.

"Next up, the role of Thumbelina's mother will be played by Mei," Mr. Seishima continued. There was another round of applause from the small group. "This will be a voiceover role only. Obviously the club is only a small production group - we can hardly find a feasible way to have a giant model mother on stage. Mei, your voice always carries beautifully on stage and I'm sure you can do us proud from speaking off stage too."

Despite having a very resonant voice on stage, just like Mr. Seishima had said, Mei was actually fairly quiet and soft-spoken for the most part. Not to mention polite. She bowed to their teacher. "Thank you, sir."

"The role of the beggar woman who gifts Thumbelina to her mother will be filled by Yui," Mr. Seishima proceeded, to more applause. "Since this is only a small role at the beginning of the production you will also be playing the bigger part of Queen Tabitha."

"Great! Thanks sir!" Yui exclaimed enthusiastically. Multiple roles meant multiple costumes. That was fine with her.

"Then there's the role of King Colbert..."

And so it went on. Mr. Seishima made his way through all of the announcements. The only roles left open were a few of the semi-major male characters that he intended to split between Ritsuka and Tokyo if they _did_ choose to involve one of the Host Club members again. He told them that if that happened then he'd be happy to decide the roles if they had any trouble choosing between themselves.

"And that's everything," said Mr. Seishima, satisfied. Everyone seemed pleased with the parts that they'd been given. "I'll leave you to discuss the role of Prince Cornelius yourselves - the choice is up to the club after all. Hinata, if you could give me the heads up when the decision's been made then that would be great."

"Right," said Hinata, nodding dutifully and sending a cascade of perfect black hair tumbling forward from her shoulders. Mr. Seishima was her homeroom teacher.

"Then I'll see you all on Monday with the first draft scripts."

They all bid Mr. Seishima goodbye. Only after he'd gone could they finally get down to business and talk things through in complete honesty. Three members of the Host Club belonged to his form, so they had to be careful about what was said around him. Once he'd left however, the babble started almost immediately.

Ritsuka rapped his nails hard against the wooden crate he'd originally been sitting on to get everyone's attention. The babble quickly died down. "Right... Now it is no secret - at least amongst us - that we all hate the Host Club..."

"Right!" the rest of the club chorused, Kotomi included. She'd gotten good at not missing a beat whenever it came down to this.

"But we also can't deny that last year our production had the best turn-out ever, thanks to Suoh," Ritsuka added grudgingly.

"I've never seen the auditorium so crowded," Kasai agreed. As an actress it had made her quite sad. But if they wanted people to even attend the performances in the first place then they had to use whatever they could.

"Exactly. So involving the Host Club again is the most logical idea if we want a great turn-out like last year," Ritsuka continued. "I want this to be a decision that we've all made together, so does anyone have any objections?"

"I hate those stupid Host Club boys," Emiko, one of the younger members, grumbled.

"Me too. I know we're all actors here, but their whole _lives_ are an act," agreed Mei. "They just feed every girl the same crap over and over."

"_And_ they even make them pay for it!" added Hibiki. "Talk about preying on the naive!"

"They really don't deserve the popularity they have in school," Raito growled.

"Yeah, stupid Host Club..." muttered Machi, the girl in charge of the music and sounds board.

"Down with the Host Club!" Kotomi agreed, not batting an eyelid. She was an actress after all - hiding her true thoughts was a breeze.

"Who says we even need them this time?" asked Hinata. "Maybe people will remember how much they enjoyed the show last year and come back anyway."

"But can we take that risk?" Pretty boy Yuki pointed out, ever the logical one. "People might not bother with us once they find out we don't have Suoh this time."

"What would you prefer to do, Tokyo?" Ritsuka asked the ashen-haired boy. "The leading role will go to you if we decide not to get one of the Host Club guys in on it."

Tokyo looked surprised. "But I thought Mr. Seishima says it would go to either one of us otherwise?"

"And I'm saying it will be you if that's the case," Ritsuka smiled. "Your performance as Demetrius last year was flawless. You deserve the bigger role out of the two of us, either way."

Tokyo wasn't really one to get embarrassed, but he flushed slightly at the praise from their club leader. "Thank you... But I do think taking advantage of the Host Club's reputation will be the best bet for attracting a bigger crowd."

"Are you sure?"

Tokyo nodded. "I think it's best for the club." He then grinned. "Besides, if I play Grundel instead then that means I get to have a fight with one of the _elite Host Club members_." He gestured quotation marks with his fingers.

Several of the other members laughed. "Looks like we'll be rooting for the bad guy then," said Yui.

"It's a shame we can't get one of the Host Club guys dressing as the toad instead," Emiko giggled.

"What do you think about this, Kasai?" Ritsuka asked the retired member. She may not have been in the club anymore, but as the girl who had already played lead against the Host Club's king her opinion was one of the most valid.

"I think it's the most logical decision," she admitted. "And he _did_ listen to instruction well enough..."

"Even if he was still a narcissistic idiot," Hibiki muttered.

"Kotomi?" Ritsuka turned to the punky girl. "That leaves it up to you. _You're _the one who'll be taking the reins over the leading male this time."

Kotomi shrugged indifferently, giving no indication that her heart was actually pounding. "I can handle it."

"Then that's settled," Ritsuka concluded. "Everyone in favour of one of the Host Club members playing lead, say aye?"

"Aye," everyone replied unanimously. None of them were particularly happy with the decision - besides Kotomi, whose heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest - but they were in agreement that it was best for the club.

The principal of the school had already said that Ouran Academy wasn't going to waste funds on the Drama Club if they continued to decrease in popularity. If they had one more bad turn-out for a production then they were going to cut down their number of performances each year. They had to do what they could to make sure that didn't happen.

"And don't worry Tokyo, we'll work on making your fight extra badass," Ritsuka winked at him.

Tokyo and a couple of the girls laughed again and the atmosphere lightened instantly. If they could keep the Drama Club up and running at its full potential then who cared what sacrifices they had to make? At least now they'd be guaranteed another great turn-out.

"So how about we celebrate, now that all the decisions are made?" Hinata suggested.

"I'd actually better be going," said Kasai. "I just wanted to hear the announcements. Sadly, I still have exam prep waiting for me at home."

"Yeah, I should run too," Mei agreed. "I promised my mom I'd pick up some groceries on the way home for tonight."

"And I've got a dentist appointment," Kotomi lied smoothly, jumping on the opportunity.

"In that case we can celebrate when we meet again on Monday," said Ritsuka fairly. "Kasai, do you reckon you'll be able to join us for a little while then?"

Kasai pretended to think about it. "Hmmm, I'll see what I can do," she smiled. She was the only one who didn't realise that Ritsuka admired her more than just as an actress. "Kotomi..." She clapped her friend on the back. "Congrats again."

"Yeah, well done!"

"Congratulations, Kotomi!"

Mr. Seishima was right - everyone knew how hard Kotomi had worked in hopes of being cast in the next leading role. Kotomi beamed back at them. "Thanks guys! I'll see you all next week!"

She made sure to pack up her bag slowly, waiting for Kasai and Mei to leave first so that they wouldn't see where she was going. She pretended to check her bag again once she'd left the auditorium, giving the other girls just that bit extra head start. When she felt it was safe she made her way down to the end of the corridor and turned right, in the opposite direction that Kasai and Mei had gone.

She felt on the edge of bursting into a song and dance. She was so excited! All of her hard work had paid off - she was getting everything she'd dreamt of for the whole year. She couldn't believe it; it almost seemed too good to be true. Surely something would have to give...

"Hey Kotomi, I thought you said you had an appointment?"

Kotomi froze in her tracks, turning round to see Mei jogging back down the corridor. "Oh... I have to run back to my classroom first. I forgot my notebook."

"Yeah, I just realised I left my gym kit backstage," Mei grinned sheepishly. "But I thought you were in Ms. Gumi's class with Machi?"

Damn. Mei knew she wasn't heading in the right direction for her homeroom. "Err yeah, I meant my... language classroom," Kotomi improvised. The language department was just on the next corridor.

"Oh okay. Lucky we both remembered before we left school!" said Mei, none the wiser. "Anyway, I'll see you for script reads on Monday."

"Yeah, see you on Monday!"

Once Mei was out of sight Kotomi had another look around to make sure that there was nobody else about, then raced down past the language rooms. She stopped at the end of the corridor and peeked around the corner, checking again that the coast was clear. Most students would now have gone home or already be stuck into their extracurricular activities by this time.

"Stealth mode is on," she muttered to herself, creeping along the next corridor.

The sneaking about and ninja-like stances were probably a little over the top... But Kotomi _was_ over the top. Maybe it was something to do with being a drama student. Or maybe it was something to do with being the kind of girl that would paint violet stripes into her raven pigtails just because it had suddenly become her new favourite colour for no apparent reason at all. Honest.

Kotomi pressed herself against the wall in one of the little alcoves as two girls walked past in the opposite direction. She recognised them, but they weren't members of the Drama Club. She knew that they were actually coming from the same place that she was heading to right now.

She managed to get to the back section of the school without anymore hitches. Thank god... She made her way up the final staircase, pausing only for a few seconds outside music room three to smooth down her dress, rearrange her hair and take a slow, steady breath. She then opened the door.

Her gaze was met instantly by a group of six boys and, more importantly, their king and his amethyst eyes.

"Welcome to the Host Club!"

**XXX**

**Author's Note!**

So this a story that's been a looong time in coming... I owe Ouran a serious amount. It was the show that got me properly back into anime (besides having seen the kiddie shows like Pokémon, Digimon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, etc.) Not to mention the first one to turn me into a voice actor whore (those of you who know me know how serious that part is ;D)

I had an incredible amount of fun writing this! As you can see Kotomi's a naughty, naughty girl... Because when is it ever as much fun to write a goody-goody character? ;)

We're now back to that stage where I have the opportunity to include your OCs. I can easily create extra characters myself - I take them on from other people to try and make it more for their creators. If you've read other stories of mine before then you'll know the problems I've had with doing this in the past. Basically... I'm pretty strict about it. I have two simple rules. Follow them and then it all depends on how much I like your character.

First, show an interest in the story itself (people have asked me before how they're supposed to do that, but surely that's pretty obvious...?!)

Second, PM me for more details. I'll then give you the details IF you get these two rules right.

Apparently this intimidates some people? I promise I'm a nice person really. I just like to nip trouble in the bud whilst I can ;)


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